Sandals Task Force – Your mission, if you accept it, is to ‘Sandalise’ the Caribbean

Shawn DaCosta (2nd remaining), Sandals Resorts International’s main working officer, appears to be like on as Curacao Key Minister Gilmar Pisas (second correct) is greeted by Sandals executive Arlene Lindo and Government Chairman Adam Stewart, at the ribbon-slicing ceremony for Sandals Royal Curacao on June 24, 2022. (Photograph: Joseph Wellington)

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — In the hospitality sphere Sandals Resorts has always been the area to function but the prospect of vacation, finding out new cultures and languages has added a new entice to the attractiveness of the Caribbean’s primary hotel chain.

Responding to raising desire from the islands for its world-class brand name — a ensure of instant worldwide tourism publicity — and in buy to aid its possess aggressive press to unfold its wings throughout the location, Sandals has proven a job force — comprising some of its most expert and skillful workforce associates — to be deployed to new resorts.

“The primary mission of the Sandals Job Drive is to provide human money help to our resorts in which needed. This involves, but is not limited to on the task coaching support, and working in important group member posture(s) to boost operational effectiveness and efficiency,” explained Sandals Government Chairman Adam Stewart.

“We are constructing potential leaders by supplying publicity to various islands and cultures. It is gratifying to see how enthusiastic the team users are and to witness their power and commitment to the mission,” he added.

The most significant motion of the undertaking power to day has been to Dutch-speaking Curacao in which Sandals, on June 1, 2022, opened Sandals Royal Curacao, its first vacation resort outside the house the English-talking Caribbean, embracing the remarkable challenge of running in a new culture and language.

To meet up with its deadline to fulfill destiny’s assure to produce record in Curacao intended executing items under no circumstances accomplished right before, as Main Functioning Officer Shawn DaCosta, a 30-calendar year veteran of Sandals, admitted on opening day.

“We have practically 1,000 personnel at the Curacao resort, and to infuse the Sandals tradition of excellence we brought in 200 of our workers from Jamaica and the Caribbean to impart their comprehension of the roots and origin of Sandals and how we have managed to realize so a great deal good results in in excess of 40 decades,” DaCosta disclosed.

“This is the very first time we picked 200 of our finest group associates, as ambassadors of their household state and the model, to grow to be part of the opening workforce for periods ranging from three months, six months, 9 months and a single year — to make certain that all our company benchmarks are realised,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

DaCosta reported language was predicted to be the most significant problem to the job but the staff experienced approached it as an possibility for staff to understand the distinct languages these as Dutch, Papiamento (a type of dialect) and Spanish, which are commonly spoken in Curacao.

“Although we are robust in the English-talking Caribbean and will always be, we have shown the ability as a firm to phase into a further nation which is not English-talking to develop and establish our manufacturer,” DaCosta explained confidently.

Considering that the opening of the 351-home resort the selection of job drive users has been ramped up to 350, with a different 100 expected in the in the vicinity of long term. They are drawn from Jamaica, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos and Grenada.

The staff users at Sandals Royal Curacao signify departments this sort of as accounts, bar, butler, Club Sandals (for superior-finish guests), cost manage, engineering, leisure, EPIX, front office environment, present shop, housekeeping, kitchen, loyalty & vacation, cafe, Red Lane Spa, profits, watersports and weddings.

Normal Supervisor Kevin Clarke, who rose from his task as a waiter at Sandals Negril, was despatched to Curacao two years in advance of the opening and recommended that the mingling of staff members from across the Caribbean experienced been a hit, indicating:

“The welcome from the prime minister, other federal government leaders, marketplace stakeholders, the communities making up this wonderful Dutch isle, and our new additions to the Sandals team of workers, have been certainly exceptional…

“I am nonetheless in whole awe of how vibrant and vibrant the society and the encounters are, and the heat and welcoming nature of its folks.”

Undertaking drive members were also deployed for the reopening of Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau in January this 12 months — recruited from Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, Turks and Caicos, Exuma and Jamaica. They signify the departments of accounts, bar, butler, engineering, leisure, EPIX, housekeeping, kitchen area, resort shop, cafe, Purple Lane Spa, watersports, and weddings .

Some have also been deployed to Sandals Emerald Bay, The Bahamas, drawn from Jamaica and symbolizing the butler, entrance office environment and Crimson Lane Spa units.

The programme is headed by a task drive supervisor based mostly at Sandals Resorts International’s head business office in Montego Bay, with help from the Finding out and Enhancement and the Human Resource departments of every resort.

Commenting on the perform of the process drive in Curacao, Sandals CEO Gebhard Rainer, an worldwide hospitality qualified, argued that the resort chain was knowledgeable that to reach its usually high resort specifications there would demand a realisation that “we are an intercontinental enterprise — authentically Jamaican but a truly international firm — that has arrive to Curacao”.

“We realise that it requires a unique strategy and a cultural expansion of the intellect. It needs us to realise that we are now dealing with a distinct jurisdiction with European laws, and a client that has high expectations of us to assistance them experience their goals of a excellent holiday,” mentioned Rainer.

He thinks that Sandals Royal Curacao offers the fantastic opportunity to clearly show that Sandals can go to the upcoming amount in equally item and provider. Fortunately, the firm commenced with a good asset in that the complete regional Curacao workforce experienced been “showing real energy, passion and enthusiasm that is actually enlightening and refreshing”.

Executive Chairman Stewart proposed that the endeavor power strategy is listed here to continue to be when he indicated, at the grand opening social gathering for Sandals Curacao past 7 days, that the resort options to plant its flag in the four corners of the Caribbean.

He stated Sandals Royal Curacao marked the opening of the resort chain’s quite first vacation resort in the Dutch Caribbean but constituted “an fascinating portion of our options to broaden and rejoice the multifaceted and beautiful mosaic of tradition, meals, artwork, and language of the region”.

New team member recruits, who went to Shorelines Turks and Caicos in 2021, gather for a image opportunity.

Sandals Barbados Common Manager Nicholas Simmons (centre) poses with group members prior to their departure for Sandals Royal Curacao.

Keisha Henry (remaining) from the Loyalty and Travel Department, Sandals Ocho Rios, welcomes two of the initially company at the freshly opened Sandals Royal Curacao on June 1, 2022. (Image: Joseph Wellington)

Melissa Phillips (right), loyalty and travel manager, is on the occupation at Sandals Royal Curacao. From remaining are Standard Manager Kevin Clarke and company, Steven and Gabriella Houridis of New York. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

SRI CEO Gebhard Rainer talking of the shift to the Dutch-talking Caribbean. (Photograph: Joseph Wellington)

Team members from Sandals Grande Antigua on the job power to Sandals Royal Curacao